Natural

Resources

Conservation

Service

Room 693 Federal Building

210 Walnut Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50322

(515) 284-4260

Dear Iowa Citizens,

We are increasingly becoming an urban society, even in Iowa, but our natural resource base and our environment is critically linked to the health of our

private, rural land. Every time we buy a loaf of bread, take a drink of water,

and watch a flock of geese head south, we are reminded that private land is

interwoven into our daily lives. 

While the movement to take better care of natural resources never seems to

occur fast enough, it’s clear that Iowa farmers and the conservation community are already national leaders in establishing conservation buffers, restoring wetlands, using conservation tillage methods, and overall care of working agricultural land. This work has been aided through strong local and

state leadership, including involvement from Iowa’s 100 soil and water conservation districts and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land

Stewardship’s Division of Soil Conservation. The many partnerships and

strong conservation ethic that have propelled Iowa into national leadership

in resource conservation will gain more support, as public and private conservation efforts continue to expand. 

As the nation’s lead technical agency on natural resource care of private

lands for more than 60 years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service

(NRCS) is eager to help Iowans take more steps forward. 

Please feel free to review the recent accomplishments on natural resource

care in Iowa listed in this brief report, and share in the satisfaction of the

important work that continues on private land for all of society.

Leroy Brown, State Conservationist

NRCS Mission

To provide leadership

in a partnership

effort to help people

conserve, improve

and sustain our 

natural resources 

and environment.

NRCS Vision

A Productive Nation

in Harmony 

with a Quality

Environment.

A Partnership for Good Stewardship

2000 REPORT– IOWA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Harold and Ruth DeBruin of Fremont

are working with NRCS to reduce erosion, get cleaner water, improve forage

p roduction, and make better use of

nutrients on their Mahaska County farm.

Together they developed a pre s c r i b e d

grazing system that included pasture,

hayland, and critical area plantings, a

livestock water tank, a brush management plan, and a nutrient management

plan. Since enrolling 88 acres of pasture

in the Environmental Quality Incentives

Program (EQIP) in 1999, they established

12 paddocks to rotate about 40 head of

cattle. Several pastures were converted

from cropland, and were seeded to eastern gamma grass, a warm season, native

plant that provides good forage for summer grazing.

Harold DeBruin (right) has worked with

Kevin Funni of NRCS through EQIP to

take care of his grass as well as his cows.
Program Summary

This report highlights accomplishments in Iowa

for fiscal year 2000, but is also an update on the current status of conservation programs.

Conservation Operations

Conservation operations is the NRCS day- to- day

technical assistance program. Assistance includes

special outreach efforts by NRCS employees to

minority and non-traditional audiences that could

benefit from NRCS services. This base program also

often supports the initial phase of work done

through other programs mentioned in this report. In

FY 2000, accomplishments from this base program

include: 

•Acres Planned for conservation 1,174,262

•Practices applied (acres) 875,363

•Highly erodible land treated (acres) 590,601

•Estimated soil saved (tons) 1,789,143

•Customer assistance (number) 300,058

•Nutrient management used (acres) 157,882

•Prescribed grazing (acres) 43,099

•Trees and shrubs planted (acres) 9,238

•Residue management (acres) 481,062

•Wetlands created/restored (acres) 18,264

Plant Materials

The Elsberry Plant Materials Center serving Iowa

released 27 trees, shrubs and native grass and forb

seed species to Iowa seed growers who produce seed

and bare root stock for conservation purposes. 

Earth Team Volunteers

In FY2000, more than 50,000 hours were served by

NRCS Earth Team volunteers to survey and stake terraces and waterways, work with landowners to

enroll them in the buffer and wetlands programs,

hold conservation education sessions, and encourage

people to include conservation measures in their

back yards.

Grazing Land Conservation Initiative 

Since there has been an almost 20% reduction in

pastureland acreage in the last 20 years in Iowa, special effort has been given to the grassland resource.

The GLCI has funded four grassland conservationists

to work directly with more than 400 landowners, private groups, and NRCS staff to demonstrate and

assist landowners on 42,500 acres to implement prescribed grazing plans.

Soil Survey

Modern soil surveys are available in all 99 Iowa

Counties. All soil surveys are available in an electronic format. (Thirteen) soil surveys are SSURGO

certified (most detailed mapping level with a geographic database) with an additional 18 counties in

various stages of SSURGO development. Digital

orthophotography is available for the entire state. 

Soil surveys have been updated and published in

four counties, field work has been completed for

update in four others, and field work is ongoing in

four more counties. 

Wetlands Reserve Program

Wetlands were restored, enhanced or created on

8,647 acres in 29 counties in Iowa during FY2000 with

assistance from the Wetlands Reserve Program

(WRP). An additional 3,237 acres were restored with

assistance from the Emergency Watershed Protection

Floodplain Easements Program (EWP-FPE).

These restored wetlands provide important flood

reduction as well as wildlife habitat and other environmental benefits. Over 97,000 acres of wetlands

have been restored or are in the process of being

restored under these programs in Iowa since 1992.

2000 REPORT– IOWA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

NRCS employees serve all 99 counties through 100

soil and water conservation districts in Iowa. Local

offices are located in USDA Service Centers.

Professional soil conservation staffs in each office are

supported by agronomists, biologists, soil scientists,

engineers, and other conservation specialists. 

NRCS conservationists help interested landowners to

plan and apply practices that improve water quality,

sustain soil resources, enhance habitat for wildlife, and

improve the conditions of natural resources on privately

owned land in general. 
2000 REPORT– IOWA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Conservation Buffers

Iowa continues to lead the nation in the CRP continuous sign up with 241,836 acres. Atotal of 1,772,641

acres have been enrolled all continuous and general

CRP. The continuous CRP acres include 23,824 acres

from the 21st CRP that ended in April with the advent

of the 22nd CRP including incentives for entering into

a contract and for installing certain practices. An addition 34,200 acres have been enrolled in the 22nd CRP.

The Iowa buffer partnership continues to be active

in promoting buffers and continuous CRP. NRCS continues to work with the AgroEcology Issue team at

Iowa State University in developing new standards

for buffer practices.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land

Stewardship, Division of Soil Conservation has introduce a program to match the signing incentive payment (SIP) for those practices that do not receive a SIP

under the CRP program. In addition the Division has

funds to promote buffers through grants to Soil

Conservation Districts. 

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

(WHIP) 

WHIP is a voluntary program that helps landowners develop wildlife habitat on private lands. The 11

contracts initiated on 468 acres for $80,000 helped

restore native prairie sites, establish prairie vegetation,

stabilize streambanks and install fish habitat structures.

Resource, Conservation & Development

Thirteen RC&D councils worked in communities

across Iowa to leverage more than $9.8 million in

completing a wide variety of natural resource and

community development projects that included:

• Demonstration of the use of biomass from 

switchgrass to replace coal in large-scale electricity generation;

• Re-establishing the wine grape industry in Iowa;

• Development of locally-driven watershed organizations; and

• Outreach projects to economically disadvantaged and other under-served communities.

Manure Management 

Working with the Iowa Manure Management

Action Group (IMMAG), NRCS has developed a

working partnership with farm organizations, Iowa

livestock and poultry industry, and environmental

groups.The group’s website averaged over 200,000

hits per quarter during the year by producers, agriculture service providers, and others.

Farmland Protection Program

Local groups are showing interest in this program

intended to slow the rate of conversion of prime and

unique agricultural land to urban development.

Small Watershed Program 

Planning for watershed project rehabilitation

began in Iowa during FY2000, with plans for two

pilot projects in western Iowa completed. Watershed

planning assistance was also provided in southern

and northeastern Iowa.

Watershed project measure construction was completed on 19 sites in five watersheds during FY2000.

Operations and maintenance technical assistance was

also provided to more than 50 projects.

Environmental Quality Incentives

Program (EQIP)

Since the beginning of the Environmental Quality

Incentives Program (EQIP), the land users of Iowa

have shown a great interest in using the program to

help them protect natural resources. In 4 years, 4,100

applications requesting a total of nearly $41 million of

EQIP funds have been received. A total of $15.5 million of EQIP funds received in Iowa has allowed funding of 2,240 applications. The funds were used primarily to treat resource concerns related to livestock production, reduce soil erosion, and improve water quality.

In fiscal year 2000, $3.3 million in conservation

c o s t - s h a re funds were available to Iowa farmers

through EQIP. Of these funds, $2.3 million were designated for 46 priority areas across Iowa. These funds

resulted in the development of 313 EQIP contracts.

About $1 million in remaining EQIP funds were

a w a rded to Iowa farmers with statewide priority

resource concerns, including livestock manure and

pasture management, soil erosion, and water quality.

These EQIP monies funded a total of 125 contracts

covering approximately 21,000 acres. NRCS received

many more applications for the statewide priority

resource concerns that could be funded.

Forestry Incentives Program (FIP)

9 contracts were issued to improve timber stands

on 300 acres in FY 2000. Potential is great for more

improvement; more than 90% of Iowa’s 2 million acres

of forest are owned by 50,000 individual landowners.